Tovah Feldshuh, as Golda Meir, holds a newspaper bouquet given to her by a Jewish child in "Golda's Balcony, " at Manhattan Ensemble Theatre. put the interests of Israelis above the interests of her own children; to her, they were one and the same. Scott Schwartz directs. (Manhattan Ensemble Thea- tre, 55 Mercer St. 212-239-6200. Closes April 27.) HANK WILLIAMS: LOST HIGHWAY In Randal Myler's beguiling musical biography of the hard-drinking, softhearted balladeer, Jason Petty retraces Williams's journey from hardscrab- ble childhood to honky-tonk renown. The audi- ence keeps him company all the while, tapping their toes even when he's so lonesome he could cry. (Little Shubert, 422 W 42nd St. 212-239-6200.) THE JACKIE WILSON STORY The Black Ensemble Theatre Company's musical about the famed R. & B. singer (who died penniless in 1984 after spending more than eight years in a coma) comes to the Apollo Thea- tre after a national tour. With Chester Gregory IT as Wilson and Melba Moore as his mother. Written and directed by Jackie Taylor. (253 W. 125th St. 212- 307-7171. Closes April 27.) LIFE (X) 3 The monstrous is given an alto- gether upbeat French bourgeois touch in Yasmina Reza's slick new play, a ninety-minute field day of gleeful malevolence in which three possible scenarios of bad behavior at a failed din- ner party play out, to no appar- ent point. The excellent cast in- cludes Helen Hunt, Brent Spiner, Linda Emond, and John Tur- turro. Emond, as the princess of the passive-aggressive put- down, and T urturro, in manic mode, make the most noise in this hollow vessel. Directed by Matthew Warchus. (Circle in the Square, 50th St. west of Broad- way. 212-239-6200.) THE NEW YORKERS This 1930 Cole Porter musical comedy, based on the cartoons of the New Yorker cartoonist Peter Arno, has been revived by Musicals Tonight! The artistic director, Mel Miller, has mas- saged the libretto and expanded the song list, with the permis- sion of the Cole Porter trust. Songs include "Love for Sale," "I Happen to Like New York," and other hits. (14th Street Y, 344 E. 14th St. 212-296-1515. Closes April 20.) OBSERVE THE SONS OF ULSTER MARCHING TOWARDS THE SOMME On a beautiful set, built by Alex- ander Dodge and lit by Donald Holde, a platoon of Irish Protestant volunteers strug- gle with their pride, their fear, and their duty on the eve of one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War. The fine and versatile ensemble is well equipped to carry off Frank McGuinness's charged dialogues, and Justin Theroux shines as the lone toff in the bunch, and the lone survivor. Directed by Nicholas Martin. CMitzi E. Newhouse, Lincoln Center. 212- 239-6200. Closes April 13 .) o JERUSALEM A. R. Gurney's darkly comic drama about the diplo- matic failures that preceded 9/11 indicts the American political psyche through close scrutiny of a weak, well-meaning governmental Everyman, Hartwell Clark. Clark (Stephen Rowe) is a self-delighted Yalie oilman married to a Texas heiress. When George W. Bush becomes President, Clark lands a diplomatic post in the Middle East, and in Beirut, he runs into an old lover, Amira (played with glinting fervor by Rita z Wolf), a Palestinian whose son is a member of Õ Hamas. The cast delivers Gurney's briskly paced lines with humor and bite, and the play is strong when it 2 is personal and satirical, but Gurney's audacious i!; premise-that the 9/11 attacks were directly tied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and could have been .'Þ , ,(, "->. :i :. . . prevented-overreaches. Directed by Jim Simpson. (Flea, 41 White St. 212-226-2407. Closes April 19.) OUR LADY OF 121ST STREET Stephen Adly Guirgis's play speaks gorgeously to our deracinated times. A group of fractured souls congregate at the Ortiz Funeral Home in Harlem to mourn Sister Rose-a nun who had taught most of them as children-but the wake turns into a vigil when Sister Rose is stolen from her casket. Guirgis's brilliantly drawn characters have been punished by life after their school days and ex- hausted by their grievances. Burnished to a shine by Philip Seymour Hoffman's deft direction, "Our Lady of 121st Street" is a fever chart of the heart's deceptions. (10/14 & 21/02) (Union Square Thea- tre, 100 E. 17th St. 212-307-4100.) \. \ 'r .... · .'C;o ," -. ,.,...' . < .... '-... ," -cJ; ;1t(>, THE PLAY WHAT I WROTE Mike Nichols helped bring this hit play over from London, about one-half of a comedy duo who wantS to dump his parmer and put on his own play but first needs to cast a major actor to play his co-star. Star- ring Sean Foley and Hamish McColl as the team, with a secret roster of guest stars. Kenneth Branagh directs. (Lyceum, 149 W. 45th St. 212-239-6200.) TALKING HEADS Six solo plays by Alan Bennett come to the Minetta Lane Theatre, in two alternating programs. Michael Engler directs. (Reviewed in this issue.) (18 Minetta Lane, east of Sixth Ave., between W. 3rd and Bleecker Sts. 212-307-4100.) THW AK The Umbilical Brothers, a comic duo from Australia, return to New York with their neo-vaudevillian routine, in which they taunt and tease each other, clown with the mike, and act like living cartoons- creating goofy sound effects, which they respond to with rubber-limbed acrobatics. (New Victory, 209 W. 42nd St. 212-239-6200. Closes April 27.) URBAN COWBOY Comparisons to the 1980 film starring John Travolta and Debra Winger are inevitable but silly: the movie was an intimate study of class and sex differences, while this musical is big, brash, eager to please, and none too subtle. The story is the same: small-town Texan comes to Houston, meets girl, falls in love, marries girl, then gets rattled by her need to prove her mettle by riding the mechanical bull at the local beer hall. The savvy director.. Lonny Price, keeps the action going and leaves out the explication. What the show lacks in depth the singers and dancers make up for with energy, verve, and well-toned calves and abs, but it's hard to feel anything strongly about the perform- ers except that they are too heavily miked. Matt Cave- naugh, as Bud, recalls a young John Raitt, handsome and reliable, while Sally Mayes and Rozz Morehead provide able comic relief. Marcus Chait adds sex ap- peal as Wes, a spoiler who uses his wily intelligence to snake his way in between Bud and his girl, Sissy (jenn Colella). Choreographed by Melinda Roy, with musical direction by Jason Robert Brown. (Broadhurst, 235 W 44th St. 212-239-6200.) VINCENT IN BRIXTON Nicholas Wright's play about the young Vincent Van Gogh's affair with his London landlady shows one complicated collision between genius and domestic order. As the artist, the Dutch actor Jochum ten Haaf gives a startling pOrtrayal of the ugly, messy pursuit of love and the recklessness of self-invention. Even in his quiet moments- when he's listening or waiting for a response-he vibrates with a love of performance that merges with Vincent's love of painting. Under the masterly di- rection of Richard Eyre, Vincent undresses the soul of his older lover, Mrs. Loyer (Clare Hig- gins), and Higgins lets us see the striptease. (3/17/03) (Golden, 252 W 45th St. 212-239-6200.) THE WOMEN OF LOCKERBIE In Deborah Brevoort's play, written in the form of a Greek tragedy, a man and woman travel to Lockerbie, Scotland, to visit the site where their only son died in the crash of Pan Am Flight 103. Scott Elliott directs. (St. Clement's, 423 W. 46th St. 212-279-4200.) ZANNA, DON'T! All the students at Heartsville High are gay, so calamity ensues when the football quarterback and the female lead in the school play (about heterosexuals in the military) notice that they have feelings for each other. Thís perky and adorable musical is so bubble-gum flavored that it could almost cause sugar shock-but the wit of the script cuts the sweetness. Jared Zeus, as the clumsy quarterback, and Anika Larsen, as a white soul- singing lesbian, stand out in the youthful, talented cast. Directed and choreographed by Devanand Janb. (john Houseman, 450 W 42nd St. 212-239-6200.) " :; .. DANCE BALLET TECH Eliot Feld's season at the Joyce continues, featuring new and repertory works that stress athleticism and the musculature of the body. (175 Eighth Ave., at 19th St. For full schedule, call 212-242-0800. Through April 13.) "BELLY POLLING" In the title work of the evening, the seven women of Ivy Baldwin Dance maneuver on their hands, letting their bodies trail behind them. Dressed in business suits, they tug and pull at each other, emitting grunts of effort and gasps of surprise. The dance was in- spired by a theatre-improvisation class at Upright THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 14 2003 "